Successful Meetings - November 2008 - (Page 32)

Planner’s Workshop > Professional Development By Vincent Alonzo The Green Meetings Glossary of Terms Before you can make your meeting green, you’ve got to understand the terms. Here’s a quick primer on all the buzz words and what they mean: of carbon dioxide? Today, with all of the burning fossil fuels to create energy, we are releasing more and more CO2 into the atmosphere. by purchasing a carbon offset. Carbonneutral implies that all GHG emissions are offset and is often used inaccurately to describe a company or project, when “lowcarbon” is the more correct term. WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING? Global warming is the gradual increase in global temperatures caused by the emission of gases that trap the sun’s heat in the earth’s atmosphere. WHAT IS A CARBON FOOTPRINT? A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of GHGs produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide. The carbon footprint of a meeting is calculated by use of electricity, natural gas, heating oil, vehicles, air travel, etc. WHAT ARE CARBON OFFSETS? A carbon offset is the act of reducing or avoiding GHG emissions in one place in order to “off-set” GHG emissions occurring somewhere else. The average person emits 16 to 41 tons of CO2 per year. It costs $88 to $221 per year ($6 to $13 per ton) to offset that CO2. The majority of carbon offsets are used to support renewable energy, reforestation, and alternative energy such as windmills. Vincent Alonzo is the editor-in-chief of Successful Meetings. He can be reached at vince.alonzo@nielsen.com. WHAT ARE GREENHOUSE GASES (GHG)? There are four major types of greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide. WHAT IS CARBON NEUTRAL? Carbon neutral means calculating your total climate-damaging carbon emissions, reducing them where possible, and then balancing your remaining emissions, often WHY CARBON DIOXIDE? There are several GHGs, so why are all of the measurements expressed in units Tools of the Trade W I P E T H E S L AT E C L E A N BY VINCENT ALONZO One of the most frustrating realities for planners and attendees of offsite meetings is the fact that all the green initiatives in the world can be washed away by the amount of carbon generated flying to the meeting. Attendees and planners who must fly and feel guilty about the carbon emissions, can visit www.countdownyourcarbon.org to calculate the carbon emissions they are generating both in the air and on the ground, and purchase offsets to balance out their impact on the environment. T H E PA P E R L E S S M E E T I N G The MeetingPod is a paperless, electronic meeting system. It holds all the meeting information that each attendee can then view on their individual MeetingPod. This means that they do not have to print agendas, minutes from the last meeting, or any other information relevant to that meeting. Presentations can even be viewed on the built-in screen making meeting room tables more efficient and easier to layout and use. For more information visit www.synanto.com. 32 successfulmeetings.com NOVEMBER 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS http://www.countdownyourcarbon.org http://www.countdownyourcarbon.org http://www.synanto.com http://www.successfulmeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - November 2008

Successful Meetings - November 2008
Editor's Note
Supplier News - Wyndham Worldwide Launches Green Program and Website with a "Global Green Day"
On the Record
Calendar
Supplier News - Oregon Convention Center Earns Silver LEED�Rating
Planner Spotlight
Management Matters
Meetings Law
Mouth for Sale
Websites of the Month
Professional Development - 25 Eco-Friendly Holiday Business Gift Ideas
Pre-Event
Professional Development - The Green Meetings Glossary
Tools of the Trade
On Site
When Red and Blue Make Green
Green Your Golf
Green-Centric Events Have Spice
The Green Continent
Places & Spaces
Las Vegas
South Africa Supplement
Bermuda
Dallas Metroplex
Kansas City / St. Louis
Boston
Gurus
California: New Perspectives

Successful Meetings - November 2008